Hastings meatpacker pays fine for failing to report injuries to workers

LINCOLN — A Hastings, Nebraska, meat processing plant has agreed to pay a $3,000 fine for failing to report injuries to workers in order to avoid paying higher premiums for workers compensation insurance.

The Nebraska Attorney General’s Office, which investigated and prosecuted the case, announced the settlement Friday against Noah’s Ark, a New Jersey-based corporation.

The company, which operates under the name WR Reserve, pleaded no contest in Adams County Court to three counts of failure to file a required report under the Nebraska Workers’ Compensation Act.

Under the act, companies are required to report within 10 days to the State Workers’ Compensation Court whenever a worker is injured on the job.

Failure to report such injuries, according to the Attorney General’s Office, is a Class II misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months imprisonment or $1,000 fine or both.

When injuries aren’t properly reported, injured workers may not receive the benefits to which they are entitled, such as payment for medical treatment and a payment of wages.

In 2020, Noah’s Art was sued by the American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska, which claimed the company failed to take “obvious public health precautions,” such as physical distancing, adequate sick leave, testing and clean masks, to protect workers from COVID-19.

That lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court, was dismissed in March by a judge who ruled that three plaintiffs lacked standing to sue since they were former, and not current, employees.